London broadband blackout after undergound cable is cut

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 6 Apr 2009 at 08:46

Parts of London are suffering a complete loss broadband service following serious damage to underground cables.

BT Openreach is reporting that a third-party contractor caused "significant damage" to a service tunnel, which is believed to be located close to the Blackwall Tunnel.

Openreach says the damage has caused "loss of service to a large number of end users in parts of East London", although anecdotal reports suggest the blackout may be more widespread. Namesco is among the companies reporting disruption to customers' broadband connections, with users as far afield as Aberdeen reporting disruption to their service on the Thinkbroadband.com forums.

BT claims customers may have to wait several days before broadband services are up and running again. "Due to the nature of the damage, which happened 32 meters below street level, and the restricted access to the site, it is not possible at this stage to provide an exact timeframe as to when service will be restored to all customers," BT Openreach reported in a status update posted yesterday.

"Because of the severity of the damage, the tunnel is completely blocked and to restore the cables they will need to be brought up to the surface either side of the tunnel and then routed over land through existing and new duct.

"The new duct is being built today [Sunday] as we gain permission to close roads and do the necessary work.

"As a consequence of this large scale operation it may be some days before we see all services fully restored."

BT claims "alternative methods of connection" have allowed it to reconnect a number of lines already.